The ringgit opened higher against the US dollar today, driven by the upbeat outlook for Malaysia's economy and the weakness of the US dollar.
At 9:34am, the ringgit was trading at 3.8810, up 0.15% against the US dollar since the Asian trading session opened on Thursday.
Bank Muamalat Malaysia Bhd Chief Economist Dr Mohd Afzanizam Abdul Rashid explained that the government is currently revising its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth forecast for this year, which is projected at 4.0% to 4.5%.
He also stated that the revision is expected to be upgraded, thus indicating a positive outlook for the economy.
According to Mohd Afzanizam, US monetary policy should remain supportive, with the central bank expected to keep interest rates unchanged.
Meanwhile, the US Dollar Index (DXY) declined 0.17% to 97.675, thus reflecting the continued weakness in the US dollar.
At the open, the ringgit traded lower against a basket of other major currencies.
It declined against the Japanese yen to 2.4878/2.4950 from 2.4848/2.4885 yesterday, weakened against the euro to 4.5901/4.6031 from 4.5855/4.5920 and fell against the British pound to 5.2669/5.2818 previously.
The ringgit was also traded lower against ASEAN currencies.
It rose against the Indonesian rupiah to 231.2/232.0 from 231.5/231.9, gained against the Thai baht to 12.4988/12.5418 from 12.5121/12.5374 and edged up against the Philippine peso to 6.75/6.78 from 6.76/6.78.
However, it plunged against the Singapore dollar to 3.0760/3.0850 from 3.0736/3.0782 previously.
